My gardening diary
MONDAY
One huge clump of hedychium ‘Tara’, in a bed close to the shed, has increased magnificently but the frost has turned its leaves grey. It’s time to cut it right back and give it a protective mulch. Mounding up soil over the tubers protects them without encouraging rotting or gastropod attack when they begin to shoot in late spring.
TUESDAY
Must get the potatoes ordered. Try as I might last year, I couldn’t find any ‘Jersey Royal’ or, as we must now call them, ‘International Kidney’! They’re our favourites. Now that we’re leaving the EU, I wonder whether we’ll revert to their old name? Oh well, a potato by any other name would taste as good!
WEDNESDAY
The raised bed that houses our sun lovers is looking very scruffy. It’s full of self-seeded Sisyrinchium angustifolium – blue-eyed grass. The bed won’t look as though it has had a facelift until it has all gone.
THURSDAY
Making a start on sorting seed. We haven’t collected as much as usual, but it’s still a long-winded procedure. Sieving and winnowing take place on the kitchen table. When we just have the seed left, it’s packeted and labelled and a few varieties are sown.
FRIDAY
Wet, wet and more wet have left all our slate and stone paths slippery and dangerous. It’s time for the powerwasher to come out of its wraps and get to work.
SATURDAY
We chopped off masses of branches from our crab apple tree, malus ‘Golden Hornet’, for decoration, but now we need to rebalance the tree. It’s a major operation involving ladders and a scaffolding platform!
SUNDAY
Tender herbs – basil and tarragon – are almost impossible to keep going through the winter but with a bit of care, and kept undercover, mint and parsley will give their fresh leaves through to spring. Neil has frozen lots of basil, too.